hed before
his eyes, according to her startling custom, he began shying his books
at the head of his tutor, to the great discomfort of that unhappy man,
who thought that his lot in life was indeed a sad one, and wished
himself a wood-cutter in the royal forest, or indeed anything rather
than what he was.

When his pile of books was quite gone, and the blackboard erasers, the
bits of crayon, and the pointer had been thrown after them, the Prince
put his hands in his pockets and lounged to the window, whistling a tune
he had caught from a hand-organ. His twelve younger sisters were just
coming into the courtyard, two by two, returning from taking their
morning airing with their governesses. The Princesses were quite as good
as the Prince was bad, and there could certainly have been no prettier
sight than that of the twelve royal little girls walking along so
properly and primly. Each had a green velvet pelisse, a neat Leghorn
bonnet, and a green fringed parasol; each wore nice buff mitts and a
good-tempered smile, and each had a complexion like pink and white
ice-cream, and eyes like pretty blue beads. It was therefore very
naughty indeed of Prince Vance to shout "Boh!" so loudly that each
Princess started and hopped quite one foot from the ground, and even the
governesses put their hands to their hearts. This, however, gave much
joy to the Prince; and after his sisters had disappeared he stood by the
window still whistling, with his hands in his pockets and a wicked grin
on his face.

"Your Royal Highness," began the tutor, meekly, "your Highness really
must not put your Highness's hands in your Highness's trousers pockets,
and whistle that dreadful tune. If her Royal Highness the Queen should
hear you, she would certainly have me beheaded."

"Why should I care for that?" asked the Prince, carelessly; and just at
that moment he caught sight of the Blue Wizard himself coming into the
court below.

II

Whatever else might be said of the Blue Wizard, nobody would ever think
of calling him a beauty. His nose and his chin were long and pointed,
his eyebrows big and bushy, his teeth sharp and protruding from his
mouth; and everything about him--skin, hair, teeth, and dress--was as
blue as a sky on a June afternoon when not a cloud is to be seen. He
had, too, a way of perking his head about, which was most unsettling to
the nerves; twitching and twisting it constantly from side to side, like
a toy mandarin. He ca